Former officer convicted in Tyre Nichols' death to be held without bond until sentencing
A federal judge on Monday ordered Demetrius Haley, one of the three former Memphis Police officers convicted in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, to be held without bond until sentencing on Jan. 22, 2025, according to ABC's Memphis affiliate WATN.
The other two, Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith, are allowed to be on supervised release until that date, WATN reported.
ABC News reached out to the attorneys for each of the officers but requests for comment were not immediately returned.
The hearing came after a jury on Thursday reached a mixed verdict against Haley, Bean and Smith, who were charged with depriving Nichols' of his civil rights, deliberate indifference, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.
The officers pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Haley was acquitted of depriving Nichols of his civil rights causing death but found guilty on the lesser charge of depriving him of his civil rights resulting in bodily injury. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit obstruction.
Bean and Smith were acquitted of civil rights violations, but all three were found guilty of obstruction.
The conspiracy to witness tamper and obstruction charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, the Department of Justice said. The civil rights violations Haley was convicted of also carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, according to the department.
Body camera footage shows Nichols, 29, fled after police pulled him over on Jan. 7, 2023, for allegedly driving recklessly, then shocked him with a Taser, pepper-sprayed him and beat him. He was transferred to the hospital in critical condition and died three days later on Jan. 10, 2023.
Prosecutors argued during the federal trial that the officers used excessive force to punish Nichols for fleeing, while defense attorneys claimed they were following department policy.
Bean, Haley and Smith – three of five former officers charged in this case – did not take the witness stand during their federal trial.
But Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., the two other former officers also charged in this case, testified during the trial after pleading guilty to some of the federal charges.
Martin testified that he was angry that Nichols ran during the traffic stop.
"I wanted some kind of revenge. I was seeing red," he said, according to WATN.
He admitted to kicking and punching Nichols multiple times.
Meanwhile, Mills testified that he was angry because he accidentally sprayed himself with pepper spray, and therefore used excessive force on Nichols, per WATN's courtroom reporting.
"I wish I would've stopped the punches. It hurts to watch. It hurts inside so much," Mills said as he cried during his testimony, according to WATN. "It felt bad every time the picture is on the screen to know I'm a part of that. I made his child fatherless. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know 'sorry' won't bring him back, but I pray his child has everything he needs growing up."
The five former officers charged in the case were all members of the Memphis Police Department SCORPION unit -- a crime suppression unit that was disbanded after Nichols' death. Following that fatal incident, all five officers were fired from the Memphis Police Department for violating policy.
All five former officers are also facing state felony charges, including second-degree murder, in connection with Nichols' death.
